Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to the field of computer systems. More particularly, the invention relates to a system and method for tracking events and providing feedback in a virtual conference.
Description of the Related Art
“Web conferencing” or “virtual conferencing” refers to various forms of online collaborative services including web seminars, webcasts, and peer-level web meetings. Web conferencing systems today support real-time audio and video streaming between participants, typically under the coordination of a central web conferencing server. Applications for web conferencing include online classrooms, meetings, training sessions, lectures, and seminars, to name a few.
Participants to a web conference such as students in a virtual classroom can benefit from formative feedback on their contributions during classroom discussions. Such feedback requires identifying, classifying, and/or assessing each contribution (e.g., spoken contribution, written contribution) by each individual participant, which may be time consuming and impractical. Notwithstanding the pedagogical value of formative feedback and assessment, the time and resources required in providing such feedback and assessment to participants can prevent or diminish this learning opportunity for participants.